Joint structure of toy

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a joint structure of a toy including: a first block and a second block to structure the toy; a ball joint including: a ball portion provided on the first block to be able to take a predetermined position close to the first block and a separated position separated from the first block; and a ball shaped bearing provided on the second block to engage to the ball portion; and an engaging section structured to be able to engage and release the first block and the ball joint by hand to hold the ball portion at the predetermined position when in an engaged state and to allow the ball portion to move to the separated position when in a released state.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a joint structure of a toy, and in particular, a joint structure of a toy to enable members connected to each other to be in a state locked with each other and in a state free of each other.

2. Description of Related Art

There is an animal toy, etc., where an arm section, leg section, etc. are swingably supported with respect to a body section. For example, a rotating plate is provided to the body section, a shaft is installed upright at an eccentric position of the rotating plate, the shaft is rotatably fitted in the leg section and a portion of the leg section is linked with respect to the body section to move the leg section to the front and back (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-265870, FIG. 2 to FIG. 5).

With the joint structure as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-265870, when the toy is not moved and displayed as a figure, the leg portion can only be rotated on a certain plane with respect to the body section, and the posture with respect to the body section is limited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above situation, and it is one of main objects to provide a joint structure of a toy to allow a toy to take a posture freely when the toy is placed as a figure.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a joint structure of a toy including:

a first block and a second block to structure the toy;

a ball joint including:

-   -   a ball portion provided on the first block to be able to take a         predetermined position close to the first block and a separated         position separated from the first block; and     -   a ball shaped bearing provided on the second block to engage to         the ball portion; and

an engaging section structured to be able to engage and release the first block and the ball joint by hand to hold the ball portion at the predetermined position when in an engaged state and to allow the ball portion to move to the separated position when in a released state.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, advantages, and features of the present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the appended drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a robot toy using a joint structure of a toy of the present embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a conceptual cross-section view showing the joint structure of a leg base section A of the toy shown in FIG. 1, and shows a connected state of a body section and a leg section;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual cross-section view showing the joint structure of the leg base section A, and shows a separated state of the body section and the leg section;

FIG. 4 is a conceptual cross-section view showing the joint structure of a leg section B of the toy shown in FIG. 1, and shows a connected state of an upper leg section, lower leg section and foot section; and

FIG. 5 is a conceptual cross-section view showing the joint structure of the leg section B, and shows a separated state of the upper leg section, lower leg section and foot section.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A joint structure of a toy of an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a toy using the joint structure of the toy of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are conceptual cross-section views showing a joint structure of the leg base section of the toy.

A toy shown in FIG. 1 is a robot toy 1 representing a dinosaur. As for the robot toy 1, a body section (block) 2 internally includes a power source, motor and power transmission mechanism. The robot toy 1 is structured so that the leg section (block) 3 moves with a swinging movement in a front and back direction with respect to the body section 2 by motor power to move the robot toy 1 forward.

Here, the structure of the base section A of the leg section 2 of the robot toy 1 is described.

As shown in FIG. 2, a rotating shaft 4 which is driven by motor power is provided on a side face of the body section 2 of the robot toy 1 and a disk 5 is provided fixed to the rotating shaft 4.

On the disk 5, a ball portion 11 composing one side of a ball joint is mounted to a position eccentric from the rotating shaft 4. A shaft 6 is provided on the ball portion 11 and the shaft 6 is inserted in a shaft hole provided in the disk 5.

On the shaft 6, a large diameter stopper 9 is formed at an end section opposite the above-described ball portion 11, and a circular projection (engaging section) 7 is provided on a circumferential face in an intermediate section in a shaft line direction.

On the other hand, the shaft hole is broadly divided between a small diameter shaft hole portion and a large diameter shaft hole portion 10, and a circular concave section (engaging section) 8 is formed in the small diameter shaft hole portion.

The circular projection 7 of the shaft 6 is fit in the circular concave section 8 of the shaft hole and the stopper 9 of the shaft 6 is set in the large diameter shaft hole portion 10 of the shaft hole. This state is the proper position of the ball portion 11. Here, the proper position is the position taken by the robot toy 1 when it is in its original form. When the shaft 6 is in this position, the ball portion 11 takes the “predetermined position” described in claim 1.

In the present embodiment, the shaft 6 can move in the shaft line direction. At least a portion of the circumferential wall of the shaft hole from the circular concave section 8 to the shaft hole opening has elasticity to enable the shaft 6 to move.

Incidentally, the above-described stopper 9 has a function to prevent the shaft 6 from separating from the disk 5.

The ball portion 11 of the tip of the shaft 6 is accommodated in a ball shaped bearing (ball shaped accommodating section) 12 formed on the leg section 3 composing the other side of the ball joint. The side of the opening of the ball shaped bearing 12 is a hole opening widening.

Also, a guide rod (engaging section) 13 is rotatably provided by the shaft 14 on the body section 2. On the other hand, a guide piece (engaging section) 16 including a slit 15 is installed upright on the top edge section of the leg section 3. The slit 15 of the guide piece 16 is fitted to the guide rod 13.

As a result, in the robot toy 1, when the rotating axis 4 is rotatably driven by motor power, the disk 5 is rotated and the power is transmitted through the shaft 6 and the ball 11 to swing the leg section 3. At this time, the guide piece 16 moves up and down while being restricted by the guide rod 13.

Next, the operation of the joint structure of the present embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the joint structure of the present embodiment, the leg section 3 can be separated with respect to the body section 2. When the leg section 3 is separated with respect to the body section 2, with this force, the projection 7 of the shaft 6 is removed from the circular concave section 8 of the shaft hole, and the shaft 6 moves in the shaft line direction. Then, when the stopper 9 of the shaft 6 reaches to the other end of the large diameter shaft hole portion 10, it is stopped there. When the shaft 6 is in this position, the ball portion 11 takes the “separated position” described in claim 1.

Then, the guide rod 13 is rotated upward with respect to shaft 14 and the rod is removed from the slit 15 of the guide piece 16. In this case, the guide piece 16 can be bendable in a direction away from the body section 2 and the guide piece 16 can be bent.

As shown in FIG. 3 with alternate long and two short dashed line, when the robot toy 1 is in this state, the position of the leg section 3 can be moved in a free direction with respect to the ball 11.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are conceptual cross-section views showing the joint structure of the B section shown in FIG. 1.

In the proper state, the joint structure is composed so that the upper leg section (block) 3 a, lower leg section (block) 3 b and foot section (block) 3 c are integrally connected so as to operate integrally.

In the robot toy 1, a support shaft 17 is provided on a bottom edge section of the upper leg section 3 a. A later-described concave section 19 to accommodate a shaft 20 is formed on the support shaft 17.

On the other hand, a bearing 18 is provided on the lower leg section 3 b. Then, the support shaft 17 of the upper leg section 3 a is rotatably fitted in the bearing 18.

Next, the lower leg section 3 b is described. A shaft 20 provided to the ball portion 24 composing one side of a ball joint is provided in the lower leg section 3 b with the shaft 20 inserted in the shaft hole. The shaft 20 can move in the shaft line direction.

A large diameter stopper 21 is formed on the circumferential face of the shaft 20. A circular projection (engaging section) 22 is formed on the circumferential face of the stopper 21.

The shaft hole extends from the bearing 18 to the foot section 3 c. An intermediate portion in the shaft line direction of the shaft hole is a large diameter shaft hole portion. A first circular concave section (engaging section) 23 a and second circular concave section 23 b are formed apart in the large diameter shaft hole portion at two points in the shaft line direction.

The state where the projection 22 of the shaft 20 is fitted in the first circular concave section 23 a is the proper position. Here, the proper position is the position taken by the robot toy 1 when it is in its original form. When the shaft 20 is in this position, the ball portion 24 takes the “predetermined position” described in claim 1.

On the other hand, the position which the ball portion 24 takes in the state where the projection 22 of the shaft 20 is fitted in the second circular concave section 23 b is the “separated position” described in claim 1.

Incidentally, a portion of the circumferential wall of the shaft hole from the first circular concave section 23 a to the second circular concave section 23 b has elasticity and enables the shaft 20 to move.

A ball shaped bearing (ball shaped accommodating section) 25 composing the other side of the ball joint is formed in the foot section 3 c. The ball portion 24 is accommodated in the ball shaped bearing 25.

Also, a claw (engaging section) 27 is provided on the ankle of the foot section 3 c. On the other hand, a notch (engaging section) 26 which can be engaged with the claw 27 is formed in the lower leg section 3 b. Then, when the shaft 20 is in the proper position, the claw 27 and the notch 26 are engaged to each other to fix the ankle.

In this joint structure, when the circular projection 22 of the shaft 20 is fitted in the first circular concave section 23 a of the lower leg section 3 b, the top edge section of the shaft 20 is inserted and fitted in the concave section 19 of the upper leg section 3 a to prevent the rotation of the lower leg section 3 b with respect to the upper leg section 3 a. Also, at this time, the claw 27 of the foot section 3 c is engaged to the notch 26 of the lower leg section 3 b to fix the ankle so that the foot section 3 c and the lower leg section 3 b are integrated.

According to this joint structure, as shown in FIG. 5, the foot section 3 c can be separated from the lower leg section 3 b. When the foot section 3 c is separated from the lower leg section 3 b, the claw 27 of the foot section 3 c is removed from the notch 26 of the lower leg section 3 b, and the upper edge section of the shaft 20 is removed from the concave section 19 of the support shaft 17 of the upper leg section 3 a. Then, when the projection 22 of the shaft 20 reaches the second circular concave section 23 b of the lower leg section 3 b, it is stopped there.

In this state, the lower leg section 3 b can be rotated with respect to the upper leg section 3 a, and as shown in FIG. 5 with alternate long and two short dashed line, the position of the foot section 3 c can be moved in a free direction with respect to the ball 24.

Incidentally, in the above-described embodiment, an example applying the leg section 3 of the present invention is shown, however, application is not limited to the leg section 3 and can be applied to other parts such as an arm section, head section, tail section, etc.

Also, the engaging section can be composed of a cylindrical body provided on a first block and a fitting section provided on a second block to fit to an outer side of the cylindrical body, and the ball portion can be provided to project from a tip of the cylindrical body. With this, not only can the second block be fixed to the first block, but also, for example, the rotating power from the cylindrical body can be transmitted to the second block.

According to a first aspect of the preferred embodiments, there is provided a joint structure of a toy comprising:

a first block and a second block to structure the toy;

a ball joint including:

-   -   a ball portion provided on the first block to be able to take a         predetermined position close to the first block and a separated         position separated from the first block; and     -   a ball shaped bearing provided on the second block to engage to         the ball portion; and

an engaging section structured to be able to engage and release the first block and the ball joint by hand to hold the ball portion at the predetermined position when in an engaged state and to allow the ball portion to move to the separated position when in a released state.

Preferably, in the joint structure of the toy,

the ball portion is structured as a head of an eccentric pin projected at an eccentric position of a rotating body provided on the first block; and

the engaging section includes:

-   -   a positioning section to position the ball portion at the         predetermined position;     -   a guide pin provided at a position separated from the rotating         body of the first block; and     -   a guide piece provided on the second block to engage to the         guide pin to control swinging of the second block with respect         to the first block.

Consequently, the present invention can be used in a part where an eccentric rotating movement is changed to a swinging movement, for example between a body section and a leg section of a robot toy representing a dinosaur, and the leg section with respect to the body section can be in a state other than the original state of the toy.

Preferably, the joint structure of the toy further comprises:

a third block provided on a side of the first block opposite of a side where the second block is provided;

a first shaft and a bearing to connect the first block and the third block to enable a rotation of the first block with respect to the third block; and

a second shaft provided to the ball portion to engage to the third block to lock the rotation when the ball portion is at the predetermined position and to release an engagement of the second shaft to the third block to allow the rotation when the ball portion is at the separated position.

Consequently, the present invention can be used in a part where three blocks are connected in a line, for example, a leg section or an arm section, and each portion of the leg section and the arm section can be in a state other than the original state of the toy.

Preferably, in the joint structure of the toy:

the engaging section includes:

-   -   a cylindrical body provided on the first block; and     -   a fitting section provided on the second block to fit to an         outer side of the cylindrical body, and

the ball portion is provided to project from a tip of the cylindrical body.

Consequently, for example, rotating power can be transmitted from the cylindrical body to the second block.

According to the above-described aspects, in a normal state, the first block and the second block are connected to each other in a predetermined position, and when the toy is used as a figure, the first block is connected to the second block only by a ball joint to enable the second block to take a free position.

The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-100123 filed on Apr. 8, 2008 including description, claims, drawings and abstract are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Although various exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, the invention is not limited to the embodiments shown. Therefore, the scope of the invention is intended to be limited solely by the scope of the claims that follow. 

1. A joint structure of a toy comprising: a first block and a second block to structure the toy; a ball joint including: a ball portion provided on the first block to be able to take a predetermined position close to the first block and a separated position separated from the first block; and a ball shaped bearing provided on the second block to engage to the ball portion; and an engaging section structured to be able to engage and release the first block and the ball joint by hand to hold the ball portion at the predetermined position when in an engaged state and to allow the ball portion to move to the separated position when in a released state.
 2. The joint structure of the toy according to claim 1, wherein: the ball portion is structured as a head of an eccentric pin projected at an eccentric position of a rotating body provided on the first block; and the engaging section includes: a positioning section to position the ball portion at the predetermined position; a guide pin provided at a position separated from the rotating body of the first block; and a guide piece provided on the second block to engage to the guide pin to control swinging of the second block with respect to the first block.
 3. The joint structure of the toy according to claim 1, further comprising: a third block provided on a side of the first block opposite of a side where the second block is provided; a first shaft and a bearing to connect the first block and the third block to enable a rotation of the first block with respect to the third block; and a second shaft provided to the ball portion to engage to the third block to lock the rotation when the ball portion is at the predetermined position and to release an engagement of the second shaft to the third block to allow the rotation when the ball portion is at the separated position.
 4. The joint structure of the toy according to claim 1, wherein: the engaging section includes: a cylindrical body provided on the first block; and a fitting section provided on the second block to fit to an outer side of the cylindrical body, and the ball portion is provided to project from a tip of the cylindrical body. 